Google and Inc. Magazine sponsored “The future of digital marketing: strategies you need to succeed,” on December 5, 2014 at the Inc. headquarters located in the World Trade Center. Inc. senior writer Christine Lagorio-Chafkin interviewed David Sable about his experiences in marketing and business.

David Sable is a longtime advertising executive who sees digital as a way to enhance our lives, not supplant them.

“Digital is everything, but not everything is digital,” is Sable’s mantra. While his crystal ball on the future of marketing is admittedly “cloudy,” he is clear that digital puts an increased importance on making live experiences better.

Contrary to his titled talk, Sable didn’t come to spew strategies. You can look to his blog for specifics. Sable is the Global CEO of Young & Rubicam, an entrepreneur and investor that has been in the marketing industry since the 70s. He thinks the ad world was late to innovate with technology, but they’re trying to make up for it now – for better or for worse.

Sable has the knowledge of an advertising historian and talks about today’s digital revolution through the lens of an ad exec that has seen it all. He debunked digital hype and reminded the audience that it is not all about what’s on our phones, even though it seems like it is.

2014 was the year of “people beginning to understand that we live in the real world,” he said. Sable believes the biggest mistake is in thinking the experience should be on the phone. Instead it should be about creating an easy way to take that experience offline.

“Analysts 10 to 15 years ago said retail was going to die,” Sable said, quipping that analysts are always wrong. “They said there’d be no more restaurants or movies. We’d do nothing that required us to leave our home.”

This year’s most highly valued digital startups are not loved, downloaded and discussed just for their digital interface, but more for their concept, which encourages us to act contrary to analysts’ predictions.

Sable used startup glasses company Warby Parker as an example of a company that truly combines real and digital. They started solely online. Their business model involves sending users five pairs of glasses to customers to try on, an idea that came from customers’ requests to see and try on the product.

“They thought, ‘Wow look at the experience they have when they try glasses on with friends around,” Sable said. That’s not new, he said. Humans have an innate desire for in-person, tactile and social experiences.

Sable said he predicted Warby Parker would open stores because they would face inventory shortages. Sure enough, they opened their retail space in 2013 and have opened more this year, for that reason. These physical stores also help with marketing, reinforcing the brand and adding to the overall experience.

Even though we’re in the year of the face to face, Sable said it doesn’t mean that digital marketing is a bad thing.

“It’s awesome,” he said. “It means we need to think about marketing in a bigger sense. How does digital impact what they do?”

Companies have come to Sable with misguided interpretations of what an Internet presence does. He’s heard from Fortune 500 companies, “We’re on YouTube,” “We need to get on Facebook,” or, better yet, “Make me a viral.”

Being on social media because it’s newish does not a company innovative, he said. It isn’t just about getting on social, but how you make an impact there.

Since I’ve been writing a lot about pitching and entrepreneurship, I figured it would be a good idea to try pitching for myself. Ok, well James Poots of NewYorkStartups gave me the idea – and the mic. He’s been recording people’s pitches and turning them into nice videos like the one below (see his Faccebook page here). After helping me perfect my pitch in Grand Central, moving locations when the Apple Store manager shooed us from the steps where we had been filming, and staying patient through several takes on the street, James put this together. On a side note, I kind of thought the Apple Store wouldn’t notice since this song about the Genius bar was recorded in an Apple Store: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9MYSfbQi_5c.

Anyway, here is the video. At the very least, I think the graphics are really cool and my hair looks pretty good. (Speaking of hair, my second article was published at New Haircut, a creative digital agency!) If you like what I have to say, you know where to reach me. 🙂

Twitter continues to stay on top for social networking because it offers users a platform to connect, build relationships and reveal some personality. Anyone can tweet away on this fun social networking platform. But, those who use it best realize it is an extension of themselves and ultimately, their online image.

Most of the time, Twitter accounts are public pages that anyone can see. (Think potential employers, professors, colleagues, constituents, etc.). All the more reason to give your Twitter page a check-up.

If any of the “signs” below apply to you, you may need to tweak your Twitter.

1. Your bio could get you mistaken for a spam Twitter account.

“Smile once a day and it will all be okay ”

“Partying is what I do”

“UD girl living and loving *<3*”

Ok, I made those up, but they definitely resemble some bios I’ve seen! For a website that only lets you type 140-character messages, Twitter offers a generous amount of header space. Use it to your advantage! Upload an appropriate head shot and background picture. In your bio, include specific information about yourself. You can mix some professional facts like where you go to school, your major, your internship title, and some personal information, like you love the Phillies. Use this to let people know what kind of things you will tweet about.

With a good bio, whoever’s looking at your page will see what makes you stand out and learn some solid background information. Don’t let them know too much, though.

2. Your followers know your party routine from your tweets.

Glaring grammar and spelling errors in tweets late at night, posting about partying and bars or retweeting “party” accounts are signs that you’re party-tweeting. It’s fine to party, but leave tweeting out of it. Partying is too personal for Twitter. If a potential employer knows your favorite bar after finding your tell-all Twitter page through a quick Google search, consider yourself not hired.

3. You only follow and retweet accounts like I’m Shmacked, UD Makeoutz and Condescending Wonka.

Who you follow says a lot about you, especially if you retweet or favorite their tweets. Reporters, industry leaders, politicians, companies and knowledgeable people/brands push out information all day – for free! Just click to follow them, and you will have a constant feed of important, relevant information. Plus, it looks good to follow a variety of people.

4. It’s all about you.

a) “Got home at 4 a.m. with 3 bruises and a cracked #iPhone #oopsididitagain!”

b) “Just slipped on the ice #ow #slippery #fml”

c) “OMG can’t wait for Saturday! @ally435 #weekendfun”

d) “donuts are such a good breakfast #noshame”

Some fixes that are beneficial to followers and make you look more intelligent:

a) Starting my day at 7 this morning, waking up an extra 10 minutes early is productive according to NYTimes (cool article here)

d) Stopped by @CafeVentana for a donut, they have done a great job re-branding. See my review here (link)

Keep your audience in mind when you tweet. Use Twitter as an opportunity to give an opinion on something worthy, show knowledge about a topic, or share something interesting or useful – like a great article or something you wrote. Also connect to others my mentioning them, retweeting and favoriting tweets. Others could be companies you want to work for, potential mentors, someone you’re trying to stay in touch with, etc. Reaching out on Twitter builds relationships, the main goal of social media.

Use this tips to be a savvy social media butterfly.

I wish you happy tweaking and careful tweeting.

How would you fix those tweets, or some of your own? What Twitter tweaks can you make?